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conclusion:We're mixed

72
April 15th 2014 2:30 pm

The Iconia A1-810 delivers a solid experience at a budget price, despite lacking the good looks of competing 7-inch tablets like the Nexus 7 and iPad mini. The A1-810 won't be impressing anyone with its plastic build, which Expert Reviews calls a "a little on the chunky side" and CNET says it "may actually feel toylike or cheap to some." Pocket-Lint says the display's resolution "isn't great" and TechRadar finds that "colours don't exactly whizz from the screen," though CNET says the A1-810 "held its own" compared to the competition and "handles dark levels better than the Nexus 7." Get past those mediocre externals and you'll be greeted by what CNET says is a "zippy and lag-free" browsing experience, and Trusted Reviews feels that it's a "good gaming tablet." Casual users will find the A1-810 offers a good stock Android experience, but those looking for something to be carried around and used on a daily basis might want to shell out the extra dough for something with better build quality.

Powering the Iconia A1 is a quad-core, 1.2-GHz MediaTek processor with 1GB of RAM. We haven't seen that setup in any competing models yet, but the A1 felt zippy and smooth during our brief hands-on time.

The Iconia A1 has a solid-feeling and reasonably attractive if thick plastic design (0.44 inch, weighing 0.9 pound), with a white back. It's reminiscent of the Nexus 7, but the difference here is a 7.9-inch 4:3 IPS display (1,024x768 pixels), the same size and resolution as the iPad Mini.

Where the Acer Iconia A1 really excels is with its Ford Focus-easque specs. Confused? Don’t be. Acer has really thought about what people want from a budget tablet – much like Ford did with the Focus - and deliver it here. A good camera? Yup. 5MP. A nippy processor? Aye.

It's not a luxury finish by any means, and we're not keen on the clearly visible joint around the product's sides, but otherwise the smooth, soap-bar-shaped plastic casing is comfortable to hold and practical. It's light, too, at around the 400g mark so it'd be an ideal companion in a small bag.

Acer has opted for a stock Android UI, and has resisted the temptation to tamper with the OS. The company has a patchy track record with its own interfaces, and the Acer Iconia A1 is blissfully free from whizzy overlays and customisations.

Some of the cost savings show through in the design. At 11.1mm thick, it’s not a hugely slim tablet and its plastic rear doesn’t lend it the expensive feel of a top-end tablet. However, in the trade off of style for practicality, the Acer Iconia A1 gains some useful connections.

The Acer Iconia A1 features a 7.9-inch display with IPS technology, which means its viewing angles will be very good, a quad-core processor and fits perfectly in one hand, even a hand as small as mine. This is the first time Acer has delivered a 7-inch tablet.

Obviously, this isn’t trying to compete with the big boys in the Android tablet market, but rather, it’s aiming to give some of those budget tablets a good run for their money. Out of everything, we have to give some props to Acer for putting a $170 price tag on the 8GB model.